They didn't get anything reversed with TO - they filed a grievance, but SF rescinded their trade and sent him to the Eagles where he wanted to go, but he should have been a free agent and never was. That was actually part of his eventually blow up in Philly, because since he wasn't actually a free agent and had no leverage based on how it played out the Eagles signed him to a contract extension that was very, very team friendly. And in TO's case, there was actually a legitimate dispute about the deadline. This was just a pure eff up.

And I'm sorry, but while the agent may have made the ultimate error, if Dumervil was really the "ultimate team player" he could have agreed to a deal sometime before the last day. Agents still work for players, not the other way around.

Posted by AlCheez on 3/17/2013 9:02:00 AM (view original):They didn't get anything reversed with TO - they filed a grievance, but SF rescinded their trade and sent him to the Eagles where he wanted to go, but he should have been a free agent and never was. That was actually part of his eventually blow up in Philly, because since he wasn't actually a free agent and had no leverage based on how it played out the Eagles signed him to a contract extension that was very, very team friendly. And in TO's case, there was actually a legitimate dispute about the deadline. This was just a pure eff up.

And I'm sorry, but while the agent may have made the ultimate error, if Dumervil was really the "ultimate team player" he could have agreed to a deal sometime before the last day. Agents still work for players, not the other way around.

When did Elway give him the "8m or we release you" ultimatum? He probably wanted to think about it some. But in the end, paper work was signed and completed some 45 minutes before the fax was sent. What was the agent doing?

The final official offer (assuming Denver's timeline was accurate) was about 2 hours before he initially rejected it. But I sincerely doubt that was the first time they had discussed a renegotiation. I'm not slinging mud at him, just objecting to a characterization of him as the "ultimate team player" who wanted to do the "right" thing and got screwed over by his agent. They played chicken, blinked at the last minute, and then there was a mistake made. The "ulitmate team player" wouldn't have cut it that close.

They've been discussing this for a while. Elway said a while ago he'd have to take a paycut or be released. Initially Dumervil refused but obviously had a change of heart when he saw the market for DEs. The Broncos gave him a deadline of one hour before the league deadline to accept, so they had time to do everything. According to the Broncos, he only called to accept at 1:25 MDT, 35 minutes before the deadline. So they immediately sent the paperwork to the agent and Dumervil to sign and fax. For some reason it took them 45 minutes to do that.

Posted by AlCheez on 3/17/2013 9:02:00 AM (view original):They didn't get anything reversed with TO - they filed a grievance, but SF rescinded their trade and sent him to the Eagles where he wanted to go, but he should have been a free agent and never was. That was actually part of his eventually blow up in Philly, because since he wasn't actually a free agent and had no leverage based on how it played out the Eagles signed him to a contract extension that was very, very team friendly. And in TO's case, there was actually a legitimate dispute about the deadline. This was just a pure eff up.

And I'm sorry, but while the agent may have made the ultimate error, if Dumervil was really the "ultimate team player" he could have agreed to a deal sometime before the last day. Agents still work for players, not the other way around.

Right and wrong. I just read up on it more.

Apparently the 49ers traded TO to Baltimore after he signed a FA deal with the Eagles. He was still the 49ers property, but the PA stepped in and helped negotiate a three-team deal with the 49ers, Ravens and Eagles to get TO to Philly.

So you're right, not entirely the same situation, but the PA still facilitated a different outcome to the situation.

I messed up some of the details of the settlement, but the fact that there was a settlement was because the NFLPA filed a grievance that had a legit change of being upheld, which would have made TO a free agent and the 49ers would have lost him to the Eagles for nothing. In TO's case, the deadline in his contract wasn't an explicitly written date, it was a time frame with reference to a date on the league calendar, and there was a dispute over what the deadline actually was. This is much more clear cut that the player (via his agent) just screwed up. Not saying that the PA won't try to step in, but I don't really think they have a case on this one, and they'd actually have to win the grievance, because the Broncos can't just re-sign him because there are salary cap implications due to the release.